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BASEBALL VS. SAT: Semifinal-exam conflict has teams crying foul

By Matt Langone, mlangone@lowellsun.com

Updated:
06/07/2014 06:35:27 AM EDT

LOWELL -- After both the Chelmsford High and Methuen High baseball teams gave serious consideration to boycotting Saturday's Division 1 North semifinal, the schools have decided to show up to LeLacheur Park for the 10 a.m. game and play.

The administrations from both schools asked the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association to reschedule the game due to the fact that the 10 a.m. start is during the same time that 11 athletes from the schools are scheduled to take the SATs.

The MIAA's answer: No.

The decision created a firestorm Friday on Twitter and local media outlets, including television and talk radio -- the common sentiment being that the MIAA was valuing its precious schedule and revenue over education.

"The reason they gave us was that they wanted the (Division 1 North) final to be on Sunday night," said Chelmsford Athletic Director Scott Moreau. "We felt like we could've definitely played Sunday, then had the (North final) on Tuesday. There's plenty of field availability. We are extremely disappointed. To be honest, it was very surprising. I thought once upper-level administration got involved, it would help. This wasn't just a coach looking for extra days, this was related to education.

"I can tell you that both schools were on the same page on this and worked together."

Eight Chelmsford players are scheduled to take the SATs, as are three Methuen players.

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On top of that, Chelmsford's graduation is Saturday evening, and a few players had graduation-related commitments scheduled for Saturday morning.

After the MIAA gave its response, Chelmsford head coach Mike O'Keefe and Methuen head coach Eric Cyr discussed boycotting the game and forfeiting in an act of solidarity. Ultimately on Friday, they decided to honor the game, but let the students who had signed up and already paid for the SATs make their own personal decisions.

O'Keefe expects at least a couple of his players to skip the game and take the SATs, and said he "understands and respects" whatever decision they make.

"I don't want to put any kid in a situation where they choose athletics over academics," said O'Keefe, whose 11th-seeded team is 12-10 and has been a bit of a Cinderella story this postseason. "These kids have worked hard all season. This impacted more of our kids and I didn't want the Methuen kids to have to forfeit away their season. There is no easy decision for these kids, and I'll support them no matter what they choose. Education comes first.

"This decision (by the MIAA) is beyond me. I can't figure it out."

An MIAA representative was unavailable for comment Friday night.

Junior pitcher Mike Tice is one of Chelmsford's top players. He will be taking the SATs instead of playing.

"He is a serious student. He is looking at colleges now and he'd like to get his SAT up a bit," said Walt Tice, Mike's father. "I'm very upset with the MIAA for putting these kids in this situation. But Mike is pretty intense about his schoolwork and he knows it's more important than baseball."

Quinn Cooney is a junior captain for Chelmsford and also scheduled to take the SATs. His father Michael is none too pleased with the MIAA.

"It's a lose-lose situation," said Michael Cooney, a teacher in Lowell. "It's sad. Most of these kids aren't going to be Division 1 college athletes. Their future is in school. My son wants to attend an Ivy League school. It's to his advantage to take this test now. It's sending the message that education is secondary to athletics."

The North final is scheduled for Sunday night at Fraser Field in Lynn, as Andover awaits an opponent. Chelmsford and Methuen even offered to play a doubleheader on Sunday, but that wasn't good enough for the MIAA.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing for Chelmsford players, parents and administration is the fact that they saw trouble coming and warned the MIAA.

Chelmsford and Methuen haven't played since last Saturday. Instead of scheduling this semifinal for Tuesday or Wednesday, the MIAA chose Thursday, which had a forecast of heavy rain. On Thursday morning, the MIAA was quick with the trigger and postponed the game due to rain, even though the skies cleared up that evening.

The game was originally postponed to Sunday night in Lynn, before quickly getting moved to Saturday morning at LeLacheur, a closer geographical venue to both schools.

Meaning a bigger crowd, more tickets sold, and more MIAA revenue.

"I don't know if that played a factor in the decision, so I can't really speak to that," said Moreau. "But I would hope it didn't."

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